EDITORIAL: 'Justice is seeking truth' in O'Neill's death

And that's part of the dilemma facing those mourning the loss of a vibrant kid, an honor roll student and passionate Philly sports fan everyone described as smart and loving.

Bailey O'Neill turned 12 on Saturday. He didn't have a party. Instead he was administered last rites. His family made the gut-wrenching decision to take him off life support at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Now they are preparing for his funeral on Saturday.

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And they wait for justice.

They say the wheels of justice churn slowly. No one needs to explain that to the family of Bailey O'Neill.

They have been waiting since Jan. 10, when Bailey was involved in an altercation on the playground at his school, Darby Township School. Here's what is known about what happened on that playground. Bailey had some kind of run-in with two other youths. But the fight itself was described as "one on one." Bailey took several blows to the face and dropped to one knee. It does not appear as if he fought back in the brief incident.

He suffered a broken nose and concussion. But it was not until a couple of weeks later that Bailey's condition deteriorated. He was suffering headaches. Eventually he was hospitalized after suffering seizures. Eventually he was placed in a medically induced coma. He never recovered.

The tragedy surrounding the death of Bailey O'Neill - as with any young person - tugs at the heart. There is something exceedingly unnatural about someone so young, with so much to offer, being snatched away in the blink of schoolyard tempers.

But there is another element to Bailey's story that has rocketed it far beyond his Briarcliffe neighborhood.

His family believes Bailey was the victim of bullying. In fact, many of the national stories this sad saga has generated plainly refer to it as exactly that. With the nation's focus now on an elevated state of alert when it comes to school safety and bullying issues, Bailey's death has taken on a new prominence with those looking to both spread the word on the problem and deal with it head-on. The bullying contention has been all the rage on social media commentary on the case, and an anti-bullying page in his memory has been established on Facebook.

Those concerns certainly are not lost on local law enforcement authorities. That concern has become part of their investigation. But that's part of what is at issue here. The incident - including any possible bullying - remains under investigation. It has not been determined.

That investigation now includes reviewing the surveillance video of the schoolyard, which admittedly is not all that good, as well as re-interviewing students and adults who were on the schoolyard that day.

The family has shown frustration at the investigation, both in what the school did in its initial reaction to the fight and Bailey's injuries, including allegedly failing to locate and notify his mother, and the fact that no charges have been filed in the incident.

Those are perfectly natural reactions to a most unnatural occurrence, the tragic death of a 12-year-old.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan understands their concerns. He also knows there is nothing especially just about leaping to conclusions in such a case.

Whelan indicated earlier this week that he expects some kind of charge eventually to be filed in the case, but the severity of that charge - anything from a simple assault or harassment charge up to involuntary manslaughter - will depend in large part on what the medical findings point to, including a link between the injuries Bailey suffered in the altercation to the seizures and ultimately his death.

Specifically, so far Whelan has said the investigation has turned up no evidence of bullying, trying to quell the national maelstrom the story has generated.

"We're having trouble showing there was bullying, as a course of conduct as we define it, intimidation or harassment between these two boys over a course of time," Whelan said. "We have not been able to establish that."

So Whelan joins those waiting for the results of an autopsy performed by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's office. Those results are expected to take a few weeks.

And while he does, the top law enforcement officer in the county offers a cogent thought.

"Certainly, it's important to seek justice for Bailey, but justice is seeking the truth."

And the truth in this case, including what may or may not have happened before and during that altercation on that schoolyard, and what link there is between the injuries Bailey suffered and his tragic death, remains to be determined.

The wheels of justice indeed do turn slowly.

Making the tragedy of the death of 12-year-old Bailey O'Neill that much more painful.